Philadelphia Eagles Blog - Go Iggles

October 10, 2008

Well, not exactly, but with Brian Westbrook, Shawn Andrews and Reggie Brown ruled out, Kevin Curtis still questionable, and good knows what at fullback, Sunday has a chance of looking a lot like the third week of August.

We're getting pretty close to running the all-DeSean-all-the-time offense. Also, Big 5 is going to need to play like a superhero. Also, I guess this makes it harder to waive Greg Lewis this week.

October 06, 2008

I guess I had gotten suckered into thinking that the 2008 Eagles were not blood relations of the 2007 Eagles, and that somehow all those "mistake-ridden" and "unlucky" losses from last year were all just accidents and aberrations. Not this year, I thought. This year they're going to be a bit better organized and focused, and we'll actually win some close games. The Pittsburgh game definitely sold me a bit.

But after two weeks in a row that looked a lot like the team from last year -- I mean, I guess we'll need to make our peace with that. So they'll be in most games, but don't expect too many dominant performances, and they're likely to clumsily bungle a few along the way.

Anyway, one might imagine that this wasn't the most exciting game to attend. The beginning was excellent, and then it was about two-and-a-half hours of "frustrating dull."

What I saw:

DeSean Jackson should get the ball more. After seeing him run in the context of the whole field, I'm actually thinking that Jackson might be a little underhyped? Is that possible? He's a legitimate offensive threat out there. The I'm-still-in-college-and-faster-than-everyone thing on the punt return was spectacular; the guys in pursuit completely misjudged their ability to catch up to him. I dunno. This guy has a chance to to make a lot of plays for the Eagles. No reason he shouldn't touch it more.

Why the Eagles lost. I mean, whatever else might be said, the Eagles sure looked like they got pushed aroundat the line of scrimmage. Their offensive line definitely exerted their will on our guys, and while their defensive line wasn't really dominant, they still prevented the Eagles from running at all. It was a little humiliating to watch: kind of slow and steady and maddening to the point where you begin to doubt your own sanity. Like listening to someone defend Sarah Palin and telling you that no, YOU'RE the one who's out of touch! ("BountyBowl: Now With Sarah Palin Jokes!")

To whom the assembled peoples assigned blame. Pretty straightforward here -- lots of "I hate you you [insert profanity-laden description of obesity] [object of derision]" for Andy Reid. I guess it can't always be McNabb's fault, and it's tough to get specifically angry at the defensive line. The peoples were definitely restless about Reid.

The Redskins played really well. Didn't turn it over, played very simple football and beat the Eagles up at the line of scrimmage. Yeah, you can win with that in the NFL. All credit to them -- they aren't flashily talented, but they looked very well-coached and they kept their heads on, even when they went down early. Campbell was very solid. And Portis was a beast. I dunno. If there's a slouch in the NFC East, it's definitely the Birds.

And some randoms. oh, the indignity of James Thrash drawing a penalty on Asante Samuel! David Akers has got to be bummed about missing three kicks over the past two weeks. Reggie Brown had a decent game, but also contributed to the drops, and the drops were not so impressive. The Red Zone offense doesn't look "fixed." Juqua Parker was solid again.

Let's Go Phillies. Definitely plenty of gear at the stadium (the default tasteful demonstration of extended loyalties seemed to be the Eagles jersey with Phils hat), sure, but I was amazed by an actual "Let's Go Phillies" cheer early in the game. Definitely a lot of love at the Linc for the Phils. They didn't go overboard with the score updates, but each one was enthusiastically welcomed.

So yeah, kind of a crap day, save for the part where the Phillies made the NLCS, and also the part where I got to eat this totally sweet sandwich. (But mostly it was beat.)

October 03, 2008

Must have been a slow news day at the NovaCare center yesterday (which it kind of was; I watched the coordinator pressers and they weren't terribly interesting or lengthy), because there were about three different versions of "L.J. Smithrespondsto critics" in the local papers today. Not that the L.J. Smith angle isn't interesting, but jeez, there are certainly bigger fish for breadings and frying, no?

Implicit in the content of the articles is the suggestion that L.J. Smith has somehow drawn the ire of the fanbase, which I sort of get, but not really. I mean, sure, some folks in the philly.com comments and the Birds' message boards are down on L.J., but I've never really felt the anti-L.J. rage. Strike that -- I've been pretty chill with him ever since he stopped holding the ball with one hand like a loaf of bread; that totally used to cheese me off.

Could it just be that the normal targets of rage are out of focus these days? I mean, they finally benched Considine, McNabb is playing well, and DeSean Jackson has made us forget that we hate the wideouts. Hating on the kicker is too obviously fickle. Is L.J. just the last guy standing?

Personally, I could use slightly more anti-Lorenzo Booker vitriol from the fanbase. That guy almost got Dunavin killed against Pittsburgh and looked mostly useless against the Bears.

Let me know if I'm missing anyone on the list above; specifically, whom should I be hating on more?

September 29, 2008

On a weekend that the Phils clinched their second straight NL East championship, we didn't really think that we'd be twice blessed with an Eagles victory on the road, did we? Without Brian Westbrook?

Despite the text messges I received upon landing in the Pacific Northwest last night ("Don't even bother watching the game"), I plowed through the tape of the game, and the Birds weren't terrible. The defense, in fact, was excellent in the second half. McNabb was fine -- not great, but certainly on his game. But you pile up a couple injuries and stumble on a couple important plays and voila! You lose to the Bears!

(I hate to admit it, but I was a little Nancy Negative ahead of this game, and it looks like my anxieties weren't completely unfounded. SIGH.)

The thing is, most NFL games are close, and you have to expect to lose a couple close games each year. Last year's team probably lost about 1.5 more close games than the league average (Packers, Bears, Seahawks and second Giants game come to mind); previous years' teams lost fewer of the close ones. We'd like to believe that the Eagles are so formidable that they won't even be in very many close games, but that's just not true. They blew a close one last night; let's hope that the next couple break their way.

The Birds need some sort of Team-minus-36 plan. This will be the most obvious and pedestrian thing I write all week, but man, it sure does look different without the 36 Chambers of Brian Westbrook out there. Andy Reid needs to start working on the binder of plays for when they don't have the best back in football on the field. Cause it doesn't seem like he tends to have very many good ideas. Also, they miss Westbrook in a ton of ways -- not just running the ball and scaring people with his placement in the formation, but the blitz pickups and blocking as well. Buck whiffed a bit last night on those. We won't talk about Booker, other than to say....

...Booker isn't there yet. Seems like a decent situational/ once-in-a-while substitute, but this guy is not serviceable as a first-down back in the NFL. And suddenly we're a bit thin at that position. The portions of the second half when Buck was out were horrfying. Horrifying.

We've found the weakest link. Another solid game from the young linebackers. Gocong even got into it a bit more this week (good for him on the sack), though I think Gocong might be sticking out on film as the "one you can beat if you want to" -- that first touchdown was on him, and looked pretty similar to the Marion Barber TD catch from two weeks ago.

Question I'd like someone to answer. I'm wagering against the Eagles in prime time games until further notice. I'm desperate to be disproven on this, but they've just been awful in night games for too long now. Is there some sort of Kerry Collins-on-the-sauce-with-the-Giants thing at play here? (My theory on Kerry Collins on Sunday night games with the Giants was that since it was a night game he'd clear himself to have a few extra drinks on Saturday -- since the game wasn't until later and he wouldn't have to get up early -- and this would inevitably snowball and leave him in terrible shape for the whole day Sunday. Yeah, you'll see me in hell for that one.)

And suddenly DeSean Jackson is our best offensive player? I mean, that was it, right? No B-West and suddenly Jackson is the number-one option? Is that really the deal at this point? Nice to see Reggie Brown catch some balls last night, though. He looks like he's getting back up to speed, and he's had some great games against the Skins in the past -- they'll need that Sunday.

Marvels on the defensive line. Someone who actually knows something about football needs to explain to me how a little dude (all characterizations relative, of course) like Dan Klecko keeps getting to the quarterback (and why Broderick Bunkley can't). I could not have been more wrong about Dan Klecko all summer. And he keeps making plays. Remarkable. Also, at what point can we admit that Juqua Parker is playing really well and isn't some sort of undersized liability?

Don't discount the other injuries. The running game missed Westbrook, obviously, but it also missed The Big Kid and L.J. Smith (editor's note: we're about 3 mm away from affixing "much maligned" to the front of L.J.'s name in the Word Press templates). Probably wouldn't have hated having those guys out there for the goal-line offense. Ultimately, the offense probably looked crappy because it was missing four ostensible starters -- and that was before Buck got dinged up.

Yeah, this one sooked. The B-West injury watch vigil will continue all week ahead of a tough division game against a confident Redskins team. Yikes! On the upside, I bought myself some tickets to that one and will get to see it firsthand.

September 21, 2008

Ed Rendell backed the wrong horse in the Democratic primary; let's hope he has slightly better luck this afternoon. What I'll be shouting at the television about:

Ralph Wiggum lost his shin guard! Hack the bone! Far be it from me to suggest anything untoward, but it'd be nice if the Eagles could get some pressure on Big Ben early in the game and maybe even hit him a little bit. Let's see how that shoulder's doing. The Steelers gave up a ton of sacks last year (only two fewer than the Birds) and it'd be nice if the defensive front could rebound from a pretty dull performance on Monday. A sack from the defensive tackles would have me extra giddy here.

My least favorite NFL Player? There's just something in the physical manner of that Hines Ward gentleman that really ruffles my feathers. There's always an extra bit of taunting from Ward, though for some reason the blathermonkeys freakin love the guy (mostly this means John Madden). Expect some exceptionally creative and loud swearing from me if Ward gets in the end zone.

Another test for the linebackers. I'm going to be anxious all afternoon about how the Eagles' linebackers will handle runs to the outside and the short passing game. I'm feeling bullish on the Birds' ability to stop the interior running game, but I'm more worried about the fast parts of Fast Willie Parker on the outside.

Absolute terror in re: the offensive line. Not only is Shawn Andrews out this week, but Jamaal Jackson dealt with some horrific family stuff and the entire left side of the line headed to Miami to support Jackson at the end of the week. This either leads to an "inspirational performance" or "high levels of disorganization against a clever defensive scheme." Hmmm.

More vertical passing. I cannot get enough of the way that the Eagles are throwing the ball right now. No dink-and-dunk crap -- they're running 15-20-yard patterns and the ball is flying down the field. This is definitely the big-boy passing game, available only to those teams with Howitzer-armed quarterbacks. And I think that the return of Reggie Brown only makes that passing game more dangerous. Certainly the success throwing the ball has silenced the Run-The-Ball-Andy meme in Philly.

Quintin Demps watch. Whether it be as a replacement for Sean Considine or in the kickoff return game, few things would get me more fired up than more big plays from the rookies. Same deal for Trevor Laws.

I know this sounds crazy, but. Doesn't it seem like the 36 Chambers of Brian Westbrook hasn't really blown up on someone yet? We haven't seen enough magic tricks from Westbrook quite yet (though he's obviously been quite excellent).

Checking in on B-Dawk. Remember the awkward play against Santonio Holmes in the preseason game that started the "Dawkins is done" whisper campaign? Right. It's week 3, and the volume of chitchat is only increasing. It'd be nice to see Dawkins make a play or two this afternoon.

I'm planning to head to the Town Tavern for the game this afternoon -- looking forward to a great day of football.

Ashley Fox did her part to contribute to the DeSean-Jackson-Is-Cocky meme in this morning's papers. It was a worthy addition to the canon (including quotes from a local high school coach who was involved in Jackson's previous celebration gaffe -- yes, I just said "previous celebration gaffe"), and seems to confirm that Ashley Fox is going to be on soft-focus feature detail for the rest of the season.

Still, there was one paragraph I found confusing; Fox wrote that:

Jackson quickly developed a bond with quarterback Donovan McNabb, spending time with McNabb in Arizona before training camp opened in late July.

I mean, maybe that did happen, but I thought he had skipped that little trip (and even posted on it). Also, Eagletarian seemed to confirm as much at the time. So. Maybe new information has come to light. Or maybe it's much more convenient to assume that the kid's performance is a result of his special relationship with the quarterback, which must be the product of some extra time in the offseason (even if it didn't really happen).

September 20, 2008

Good news for the Birds: it looks like Reggie Brown has been cleared to play tomorrow against the Steelers.

At least you'd think it was good news -- Reggie Brown was a presumptive starter for the erstwhile wideout-challenged Birds, and surely he must be an upgrade over the backups who've been out there the past couple weeks? But the buzz in more than a couple places is that Brown's return really isn't such a big deal at all. In fact, given that DeSean Jackson has been lining up at Brown's "X" receiver position (Editor's Note: I don't really know what that means), some have wondered if there will really be a role for Reggie Brown.

While I've had my issues with Reggie Brown in the past, the guy has actually made some plays in the past. And whilst I obviously eat up any and all rumors regarding his "rocky relationship" with Donovan McNabb, Reggie Brown is definitely a better NFL player than Greg Lewis, Hank Baskett and Jason Avant. The issue is young master Jackson, who's, um, apparently pretty good, and certainly a lot more exciting than Brown. It's tough not to be distracted by Jackson; he's a much brighter/ shinier object than boring old Reggie Brown.

All that said, Brown getting back on the field is good news. The passing game has been delightfully vertical so far, and adding one more solid wideout can only increase the offense's upside.

September 10, 2008

Try and think: when was the last time the Eagles' fanbase had a day as utterly devoid of anxiety as they did today? One win, no losses, and the Eagles did pretty much everything right in that one game. At Football Outsiders, the Eagles are #1 in VOA and DAVE (DVOA doesn't start until the fourth week). During the offseason and preseason, you don't really know what you have -- and typically the season before doesn't end well, so you assume you probably need a little more. Week to week, there's usually some crappy injury story or bad play or drama at HQ brewing.

But not now. Now the Eagles are bacon-cheeseburger-flavored ice cream. And it's glorious. Let us all eat it up!

All those last callers stole my thunder, but Amen, Rev. Bowen, AMEN! So I think you can ask about T.O. as a player and a matchup problem, etc. But to be asking about what you could have done differently three years ago? Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude. Beat. Good for you, Les Bowen.

Humble request. We're close to hitting the breaking point on storiesabout DeSean Jackson's ego. Still, this is an exciting new character and he deserves a lengthy introduction with generous details on his backstory. I'm not saying we have to stop the DeSean Jackson talk, we just need to focus slightly less on reports of his self-confidence. In the meantime, I'm going to become a fan of DeSean Jackson on Facebook. It's what DeSean would want.

September 07, 2008

I'm headed to Hoboken for the game and look forward to making some noise with the crew. What I'll be shouting at the TV about:

Not to start with a negative, but spare us the obligatory drive-killing false start penalty on third down in the first quarter. Seriously. Those are totally beat.

And to get the other negative out of the way, the timeouts in the first quarter just kill me. Seriously. Also beat. Please skip.

I'm totally fired up to see the rookies on returns. Can't remember the last time I was even vaguely excited for our return game. Maybe J.R. Reed (Westbrook cameos don't count). I'm actually more curious about Demps than I am Jackson. I feel like I've seen enough of Jackson running around to understand what he's bringing. Demps is still something of a mystery.

Speaking of DeSean Jackson. Geez, the hype machine for the camelcased one is really cranking at full power, no? I was expecting to scoop the kid up in all of my imaginary football leagues; nope, he got taken relatively early in all of them. Was there some sort of fantasy-nerd special bulletin distributed on the topic? I mean, I think he'll get his shots, but WOW, this is still a rookie, right?

The Rams have to be eight in the box/ all-eyes-on-36, right? I wonder who else will get it done for the Birds? Because the Rams have to be game-planning almost exclusively for Westbrook. Someone else might have to score some imaginary football points this week!

Fear the wet field! I hope there aren't any otherwise preventable injuries due to the condition of the field. Also, if the Eagles are supposed to be "fast" on defense, then a wet field will neutralize them more? Or something? Whatever, the Rams are a dome team. They'll hate it out there.

Three things that will make me irrationally happy: (1) deep ball from McNabb to anyone (though something to Jackson would bring the house down) -- I just hope they take a shot down the field; (2) sack from one of the young linebackers, Gocong would be best; (3) Lito Sheppard gets a pick -- it just means that incentives are properly aligned.

Moment of lightning-dodging confidence: I think the Eagles scheduled a Championship Subdivision cupcake opponent for the home opener. They come correct to the tune of 27-10.

September 04, 2008

So I guess "being b*tchy to each other" is one of the new ideas (along with 17 brand-new "blogs") that got green lit at Philly.com HQ at the August editorial meeting. This is the second day that they've run the faux e-mail exchange thing, and it sure looks like they're not afraid to get a little Mean Girls in it:

Full disclosure on hugging. I have not hugged an athlete or coach, but I have been hugged. It was 1988 and the Eagles had just clinched the NFC East title in Dallas. When the door to the locker room opened to the media, I stepped in and was immediately in the clutches of Al Roberts, who was Buddy Ryan's special-teams coach. I don't believe we'd been building up to anything. I think I was just the next person in Al's path.

I see Eskin as a kind of human barometer. If he's targeted DeSean Jackson as his new, bestest locker-room buddy, that means he thinks Jackson is going to be a star here. And that probably comes directly on the Andy Reid batphone. So we all learn a little something while battling our gag reflex.